Toile de Jouy Museum

Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf, a young German worker and dyer, of modest origin, arrived in France at the age of 21. He founded the manufacture des toiles de Jouy in Jouy-en-Josas, a few kilometres from the royal city of Versailles and, thanks to his will and his desire to be entrepreneurial, he placed it in 3rd place among the companies of his time.

Consecrated " Royal Manufacture " by Louis XVI in 1783, it employed at its peak in 1805, more than 1,300 workers and more than 30,000 different motifs came out of its workshops.

A timeless know-how

More than 8,000 pieces are kept at the museum, which enriches its collections through donations and acquisitions. Toile de Jouy designs are now reissued or are a source of inspiration for a great many designers in furniture and clothing.

Toile de Jouy's favourite themes are indeed timeless, love, art, mythology, nature…. It also had a vocation for play and learning with for example scenes from the History of France and the fables de la Fontaine. Renowned painters such as Jean-Baptiste Huet, a great animal painter, have contributed with their artistic know-how.